1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a hard copy document apparatus and method of using the apparatus and, more particularly, to a stackable low profile internet appliance printer and method of using the printer.
2. Description of Related Art
With the advent of the modern day computer and the explosion in .com Internet commerical activities, there has been a growing need to move the computer and its associated peripheral devices from the desktop into a central gathering location where family members can share mutually in the Internet experience.
Conventionally however, such computer systems including processors, display monitors, printers and internet access modems have been to large and bulky to bring into such a central gathering location, such as a family room, for the mutual enjoyment of the family. This problem has been addressed by certain manufacturers who provide integrated audio-visual entertainment centers that include high speed cable programming access as well as high speed internet access. In this regard, the cable box has the built-in capabilities of not only providing television programming displayed on a xe2x80x9ccinema sizexe2x80x9d projection screen but also Internet accesses through a built-in Internet access module and remote keyboard. The size of the typical cable box has been configured to fit within the family entertainment center and thus such an integrated solution has been somewhat successful for viewing Internet content but not fulfilling the .com Internet commercial activities.
More specifically, most, if not all stand alone computer peripheral devices, such a printers and scanners, are not designed with any special aesthetic considerations, other than simply being a functional desktop stand alone device. In this regard, most if not all family households would find it highly undesirable to have a conventional computer printer placed along side the typically electronic equipment found in the family entertainment center.
Therefore it would be highly desirable to have a new and improved computer printer that can be easily integrated into a family entertainment center in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Such a new and improved printer should be stackable with the other electronic components found in the entertainment center and should be easy to use including the changing of printhead cartridges, changing media and clearing the printer of any media jams.
The present invention provides a low profile stackable internet appliance printer having a removable combination input/output tray cassette with a support mounted therein for holding the output tray in substantially horizontal plane when the output tray is extended outwardly from the cassette a sufficient distance to support from below individual sheets of media discharged from the printer.